Method of manufacture of fuses for mines.



PATENTED OCT. 22. 1907.

L. LHEURE.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF FUSES FOR MINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 1908.

Wm M inclosing a reservoir filled with explosive.

LOUIS LHEURE; OF PARIS, FRANCE.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF FUSES FOR MINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oat. 22, 1907.

Original application filed January 27. 1905. Serial No. 242.942. Divided and this application filed January 10, 1906. Serial No. 295536.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS LHEURE, engineer, a citizen of the French Republic,'and resident of Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Manufacture of Fuses for Mines, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to an improved method of manufacture of fuses and more particularly of such fuses which are filled with trinitrotoluene or trinitrobenzene as described and claimed in my application for United States Patent No. 242,942, filed January 27, 1905, of which this application is a division.

With the known methods of manufacture it is impossible to obtain fuses of considerable length and of uniform filling of explosive owing to the circumstance that in drawing out the tubes it very often happens that hollows are formed between the grains of the explosive. By the improved method of manufacture fuses are obtained of any length up to 500 meters and more with an uninterrupted filling of explosive and possessing the property of exploding under the action of a detonator of 1.50 grains oi fulminate of mercury,

and of transmitting the explosion with' velocities of 5000 and 6000 meters per second, even with fuses of very small diameter. According to this improved method of manufacture, tubes can be made as small as two millimeters external diameter, thus forming in effect detonziting wires in which the velocity of explosion is about 4000 meters.

The improved method of manufacture is as follows: A tube of lead or tin of suitable internal diameter and of about 50 to 100 meters length is placed in a casing One end of the tube is connected with the tap of the reservoir and the other end of the same is passed over the upper edge of the casing and connected with a vacuum pump. 5

The casing is filled with water or other suitable liquid heated to about 80. The explosive contained in the reservoir is of such kind which melts'at this comparatively low degree of heat and can be handled with absolute safety. Such explosives are for example trinitrotoluene and trinitrobenzene. 'When the explosive has melted the tap of the reservoir is opened and the melted explosive is drawn into the tube by the vacuum pump. The tube is afterwards reduced to the final diameter desired in the well known manner by successive drawing operations in a rolling mill or a draw plate after the cooling of the explosive.

i In the accompanying drawings an apparatus is shown in Figure l byway of example which may be used'for carrying out the improved method of manufacture of fuses, and Fig.2 is a sketch indicating, the rolls for producing the tube, the latter passing therebetween. I do not however confine my invention to this special form of apparatus as any other suitably constructed apparatus may be used for this purpose.

The casing a incloses the reservoir 1) which is placed on support 0 and provided with a tap d. The tube e is connected with one end to this tap (I and with the other end to 'the vacuum pump f.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: a

.-\n improved method of manufacture of [uses according to which a tube of lead or tin of suitable length and dl.-|me (er is filled by means of a vacuum-pump with melted trinitrotoluene, the tube and the reservoir containing: the explosive being immersed in a bath of liquid heated to the low degree at whkh the explosive melts, and the tube being their rolled out to a tube ol'rgren't lenglh and very small diameter substantially as described and shown and for the purpose set forth.

in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS LIIEURE.

Witnesses ALI-RED FllEl', HENRI GLEMN. 

